Downtown outlets mall expanding, adding 35 stores

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Las Vegas Premium Outlets-North in downtown Las Vegas plans an expansion that will add about 35 stores and increase its square footage by nearly 30 percent after receiving approval from the Las Vegas Planning Commission.

The expansion is expected to be complete in 2015.

The mall at 875 S. Grand Central Parkway, owned by Simon Property Group, was built in 2004. This is the second expansion for Las Vegas Premium Outlets-North. The first was in 2008.

The new portion of the mall, nearly 160,000 square feet, will be at the southwest corner of Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue.

Among the stores expected to be added are Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH. Current tenants include Armani Exchange, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Burberry, Coach, David Yurman and Diesel.

The land being used for the expansion is owned by FDG-Grand Central LLC .

FDG purchased the land from Simon Chelsea Las Vegas Development LLC, a division of Simon Property Group, in 2004 for $4.88 million, which is the last transaction for the land recorded in the Clark County Assessor's office. Simon is repurchasing the land in order to do the expansion. The selling price has not yet been disclosed.

Today, Las Vegas Premium Outlets-North encompasses 539,000 square feet. Included in the expansion is a four-level addition to the existing parking garage. Renovations would add 513 parking spaces, raising the number from 2,048 to 2,561.

During busy shopping seasons, the mall also uses the Clark County Government Center's parking lot, and mall employees now park in the World Market Center lot to help alleviate overcrowding, said business owner Vicki Richardson.

Richardson has owned the Auntie Anne's Soft Pretzels location at the mall for six years, and in that time has seen an increase in customer traffic.

"Other construction projects like the (Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health) and the Smith Center have changed people's perception of the downtown area, and I think that's helped us a lot," Richardson said. "People initially were reluctant to come, but now they feel more comfortable."

In the past year, Richardson said her sales have increased 24 percent. She's hopeful the 2015 expansion will help too, because after the 2008 expansion, sales increased.

"Any increase in major stores will bring people past our doors," she said.

Jason Reed, general manager of Fuzziwig's Candy Factory, agreed.

Sales have been steady for the candy store the past few months, with April in particular bringing in high sales volume, although Reed couldn't release specific figures. On average, the store's sees 350-400 people on weekends where weekdays bring in about 250 shoppers.